


darling so it goes (some things are meant to be)

by lumberwoof



Series: elderbees au [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mostly Fluff, Original Character(s), Possible Spoilers for Vol 7, Slice of Life, also bumblebabies, and a little bit of hurt/comfort, canon adjacent, these are just drabbles I never got around to posting on tumblr, this gets less and less canon compliant with each new episode, with a little bit of spice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-01-30 05:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 7,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21423043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumberwoof/pseuds/lumberwoof
Summary: A collection of short drabbles and one-shots spanning Blake and Yang's life together.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Series: elderbees au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736008
Comments: 23
Kudos: 141





	1. Fall, 27

**Author's Note:**

> these are all meant to take place in the same timeline. in each chapter title, the season indicates the time of year and the number represents blake and yang's age. finally, many of these were written pre vol 7 so expect some canon variance.

Yang got home late, tiredly stumbling through the dark to her bedroom. After an exhilarating but ultimately exhausting mission with Ruby, her barely functioning brain was more worried about turning on the light than keeping quiet. Her boots were kicked off, muddy soles thumping against the wall of the entryway. She tossed her keys onto the island in the kitchen, not even noticing as they landed and kept going, sliding off the opposite edge and onto the floor. 

She tripped twice on the way up the stairs and hit her nose on the doorframe as she tried to slip into the bedroom without pushing the door anymore ajar than it already was. Then she tripped out of her pants and into bed with a no longer sleeping Blake.

"Were you fighting a horde of grimm on the way up the stairs?" Blake teased her wife, almost wide awake after all the ruckus downstairs.

"Shush. Shut up," Yang grumbled, wanting nothing more than to rest in the warm embrace of her wife after a long few days from home. She squirmed under the blankets with a tired grunt and rolled towards Blake.

Almost immediately, Blake curled into Yang, ice-cold fingers and toes searching for the warmest patch of skin to leech heat from. It was routine at this point, and Yang should've expected it, but the noise she made in response said otherwise. 

"What did you do? Take a nap in the freezer? How are your hands always this cold?" Yang hissed as she took Blake's hands in her own and pressed gentle, warm kisses to her knuckles, willing them to warm up faster.

"I think you should know by this point that my circulation isn't the best," Blake answered, the look on her face more affectionate than teasing. 

Her eyes shone bright as Yang moved even closer, and Yang couldn't help but press a kiss to Blake's nose, her hands still encompassing Blake's.

"But," Blake continued. "You know what they say about cold hands..."

Yang pressed more kisses to Blake's fingers, brain still running on fumes and now fully distracted. She stared back up into Blake's eyes, heartfelt smile on her face as she answered, "Big dick?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake "Cold Hands, Big Dick" Belladonna Xiao Long


	2. Spring, 21

Blake jerked awake in the middle of the night, feeling around for her weapon and finding Yang instead.

"Hey, hey," Yang was barely awake, still half-drooling into her pillow but pulling Blake into her side anyway. "It's okay, you're okay."

Soft hands slid under the hem of Blake's sleep shirt, palms flat and soothing up her sides. Settling onto her back with a sigh, Blake brushed at the tender pink scar still healing on her face.

It had been a week since the final battle and nothing felt quite real yet. That she'd slept four nights in a row with Yang in the same bed seemed like a hallucination of the grandest order.

Yang herself was so tired that she actually fell back asleep, drooling on Blake's shoulder before she started awake again. "What do you need?" she asked, voice tired and words slurring together.

"I don't know," Blake said, staring at the ceiling and wondering when her body would feel like it wasn't filled with a cocktail of adrenaline and exhaustion.

"It's okay," Yang mumbled, her voice slowly succumbing to sleep again. She pulled Blake close. "We'll figure it out."


	3. Spring, 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> takes place during vol 7

Blissfully, the coffee shop didn't have a No Faunus sign, but Blake imagined the sentiment was still the same. She kept her tuque on, the soft wool pulling double duty by hiding her ears from the Atlas public and keeping them warm from the thin winter air.

"This is fine?" Yang whispered, as Blake tugged her inside. The lights inside were bright and washed out some of the vivid lilac in her eyes as she looked around. Yang had been suspicious of the city since they group had gotten off the airship. But there was only one other customer in the shop. They looked like a student, bundled up in the corner and clearly working on something.

The walls weren't littered with military propaganda either, which was enough for Blake.

"Yeah, c'mon," she said, tugging Yang in.

The barista did give them a look as they approached the counter. Their eyes darted briefly to the other person in the shop, then back to Blake and Yang. It was weird, but it wasn't enough for Blake to feel any more unsafe than usual, so she was determined not to care about it for the moment. Tugging Yang to the front counter, she ordered a matcha green tea latte. Yang got a caramel machiatto with extra caramel drizzle. 

"And I thought Ruby had the sweet tooth," Blake murmured after she'd paid.

"Where do you think she got it from?"

They found a tiny table with two chairs and Yang pulled hers around so she could cozy up right next to Blake, shoulder to shoulder with their hands linked. The warmth of Yang's palm against hers, the weight of their interlocked fingers… it felt good in a way that Blake hadn't experienced in a long time. Felt good in a way that wasn't overwhelming. It was warm and cozy, like being wrapped in a childhood blanket, curled up next to the nearest heat source and just relaxing.

"This isn't too much, right?" Yang asked.

Yang had been asking these kinds of questions a lot lately.

"No," Blake said softly, leaning more into Yang and letting her body sag, tension seeping away. "It's just right."

The doorbell jingled, cold air blowing in as a group of four walked in, though they seemed to pause awkwardly just inside the entrance. It took Blake a second to realize why. The group was all faunus, and they were looking between the rest of the people in the coffee shop. A moment passed before Blake realized that everyone was waiting on her and Yang's reaction. Her stomach twisted, uncomfortable at how well she'd passed as human.

"Cold out there, huh?" Yang said, clearly feeling the sudden tension in Blake's shoulders and naturally trying to defuse it. Though Blake wasn't sure that Yang even realized what the exact problem was.

"It is quite a bit warmer inside," Blake agreed, making a show of taking off her hat and letting her ears flex away a little of their stiffness.

The group of faunus all visibly relaxed, immediately moving to a table in the corner. Behind the counter, the barista shot Blake and Yang a soft smile and finished off their drinks, bringing them over to the table.

They gave the couple a wide smile as they set the mugs down. "Enjoy."

"Can do," Yang answered easily.

Blake only smiled back and curled further into Yang's side, taking a sip from her mug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the amazing thing is that I wrote this well before vol 7 came out and I really didn't have to edit it at all


	4. Fall, 22

The Gods were dead.

The Gods were dead and the moon still hung shattered in the sky. Its whole beauty lost to memories that no one had. Only Yang and her teammates could recall it's image from the world that Jinn had showed them years ago.

Everything left of that time was gone now. The Gods, Oz, Salem, the maidens, the relics, the last traces of magic - all gone. Auras and Semblances still existed, along with a small amount of naturally occurring Grimm and Dust, but Remnant was now facing the dawn of a new age.

And yet, every time Yang looked up into the sky, the scars of the past remained.

If she closed her eyes, she could recall the moment in the Jinn's vision when the God of Darkness shot through the moon, like a spear. That brief moment of contact, where his energy split the moon like the slash of a sword. She could see that same slash in the pale white mark on Blake's abdomen. Both angry marks left by the dead.

"What are you thinking about?"

Yang looked away from the sky to find Blake standing at the door to the porch, blanket draped over her shoulders against the light chill of the night.

"A lot of things," Yang said, patting the empty spot on the bench swing next to her. "Gods, scars, dead people. Y'know, the good stuff."

Blake chuckled and settled into the spot next to Yang, the swing swaying softly as she snuggled into Yang's side. The tips of her ears tickled Yang's chin and jaw to the point that Yang had to shift her head to make it more bearable.

"Tell me about it."

It didn't feel like something Blake would want to think about too, but Yang would never considering lying to Blake at this point. And if their positions were reserved, wouldn't she want Blake to confide in her?

"I guess I'm just… not sad, but like, almost sad?" Yang said, not sure how to describe the strange melancholy in her chest. "We killed the Gods but the moon's still broken."

"I'm… not sure I'm following," Blake admitted, her eyes were closed and she yawned softly into Yang's neck.

Yang smiled, fingers stroking the back of Blake's neck softly, tangling with short strands of hair. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Mm, it's hard to sleep when you aren't in bed," Blake admitted. Her fingers found Yang's ribs and dug in somewhat unpleasantly. "Stop stalling."

"Ouch, geez, okay," Yang chuckled, grabbing Blake's hand and holding it, trying to warm up the cold fingers. "I guess I was just thinking about how the Gods broke the moon, but now the Gods are gone for good but the moon's still broken. Or like," she cut herself off, not sure how to phrase the next part.

They'd spoken about it many times, and it wasn't a forbidden topic by any means, but sometimes it was still difficult for Yang to talk to Blake about what Adam had done. Not to Yang, but to Blake herself. Instead, she just let her arm wrap around Blake, let her fingers seek out the spot just above Blake's left hip, tracing the line exactly even though she couldn't see it.

"Does it ever bother you?" Yang breathed. Then in the next breath, "I feel like I've asked you that before but--"

"It's complicated," Blake cut in. Her hand found Yang's, interlocked their fingers. "Of course I wish I didn't have it, that the things that caused it weren't there, but I'm happy now and that's more important." She shifted against Yang's side, free hand finding Yang's prosthetic, the seam where it met with the flesh of her arm. "My scar feels like nothing compared to your arm."

"I barely even think about it anymore," Yang admitted.

"But you think about my scar."

"Yeah," Yang said. She could see the point that Blake was leading her towards. "Because it's you."

And Blake thought about Yang's arm because it was Yang. They'd been in love for years now, but sometimes it was still hard to admit that the depth and gravity of Yang's feelings were reciprocated so fully. She looked back up at the moon, remembered how she would stare at it as a child and wonder what it saw, how it stayed together.

"What are you thinking now?"

"I loved the moon when I was a kid, before I knew it was scarred." She thought about that first night, in Beacon's hall, Blake and her bow in candlelight. About an Ursa disintegrating and revealing sharp golden eyes behind it. She thought about fire and unbearable pain, and about the first time Blake touched her prosthetic - how she had clasped it between her hands like it was something to be treasured, like it was still Yang. "Pretty sure I still love it now."

Snuggled into the crook of her neck, Blake murmured, "Love you, too," as she faded to sleep.


	5. Summer, 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's a little spicy but not enough to change the rating imo

"Ouch!" Yang hissed, jerking away from the sharp edge pressed against the skin just below her jaw.

"Sorry! Sorry," Blake pulled away, cheeks flushed dark.

Yang tenderly rubbed the spot under her jaw, feeling fire burn through her own face. "No. No, it was fine. It just… surprised me. I didn't know you, uh--your teeth are sharp."

"Uh, yeah," Blake answered, looking at the mark that was barely visible. "I can--"

Yang's hand slid up to cradle her jaw and she stopped talking, leaning into the touch, breath catching as Yang's thumb brushed along her bottom lip. "It's fine," she reassured. Her thumb pulled down on Blake's lip, exposing the sharp points of her teeth. Something hot pooled in Yang's gut. 

"I think," Yang said, voice unexpectedly husky. "I think if you do that again I'll like it."

The flush on Blake's face spread to the tips of her human ears, and she surged forward, kissing Yang and nipping at her bottom lip. Her teeth were sharp but the pain was good, and Yang made a soft noise in her throat, pulling Blake closer, hands sliding to the small of her back.

Blake pulled back just enough to speak, lips still brushing against Yang's. "Did I--?"

"Nope, that was a good noise."

And then they were kissing again, Blake's fingers curled tight in the fabric of Yang's shirt and pulling, always trying to bring Yang closer, closer. Yang was gentle with her touches, aware of her metal palm resting along the base of Blake's spine. Her left hand slid up, cupped the back of Blake's neck, keeping her close.

Blake made a noise this time, ears flicking in the periphery of Yang's vision. "Was that--?" Yang started.

"Good noise," Blake confirmed. One hand reached up to Yang's, cupped it and squeezed harder.

Yang got the message, holding onto the back of Blake's neck with a grip that was just shy of bruising. Blake's shoulders slumped, relaxed, and she started pressing open mouthed kisses to Yang's jaw, to her neck.

Breath hitching, Yang wrapped her arm all the way around Blake's waist and pulled, barely noticing as Blake shifted and slid right into her lap, too focused on the tongue still licking shapes and paths onto the side of her neck. And then…

She hissed out a breath as Blake's sharp teeth scraped the tender skin, biting down and sucking what was sure to be Remnant's most obvious hickey into her neck. It was hard to focus on anything other than the pleasure jolting from Blake's mouth, shooting like electricity right through her body. But eventually Blake pulled away and inspected her work, reaching up to brush the spot.

"Felt good," Yang said. "How does it look?"

"Not as obvious as I thought it would," Blake mused, sounding almost disappointed.

Yang couldn't help but laugh. It was so easy to feel euphoric right now. She fell back, pulling Blake with her, and brushed Blake's hair behind her ear, looking up at those shining golden eyes. "We can practice all you want," Yang said.

"Is that so?" Blake answered. She nuzzled into the hand still lingering near her face. Sharp teeth nipped at the heel of Yang's palm. "I might just have to take you up on that offer."


	6. Summer, 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first appearance of the twins

To be fair to Yang and Blake, Ruby had a very good track record as an aunt. So it was hardly their fault for not seeing this coming.

The kitchen looked like a war zone, flour coating most of the surfaces, the stovetop dented so heavily that the oven had practically caved in on itself, and the fridge door was crooked, hanging on by a single hinge. Yang dropped her and Blake's shared duffel to the floor in shock and it landed directly on Blake's foot. Neither noticed, both staring wide-eyed at Ruby, who chuckled nervously.

"Welcome home?" Ruby laughed nervously, tucking the single white streak of her hair behind her ear. The twins peeked out from behind her on either side.

"What—" Yang managed.

"—happened?" Blake finished.

"Uhhh.... semblance tag?" Ruby answered.

"Semblance tag?" Yang said, in utter disbelief, trying to piece together how Ruby, who'd had her semblance for almost 30 years, had somehow botched using her semblance so badly that she'd caused that much damage on her own.

"There was a, uh, development?" Ruby said, phrasing it like a question.

She looked over her shoulder to the twins behind her. "Which one of you was it?"

The twins, only nine, peered around from behind their aunt, their golden ears perked cautiously under a lion's mane of blond hair. They looked at each other then back to the questioning gazes of their parents. "We can switch," Nisha said.

"Nisha's got it right now," Jin added.

They shared a look again, then Nisha disappeared in a brief cloud of smoke, reappearing at Yang's side and tugging on her hand.

"See? Semblance tag," Ruby repeated, grinning at the stunned looks on Blake and Yang's faces.

Nisha's aura shimmered for a moment and then Jin disappeared in the same cloud of smoke, reappearing at Blake's side, opposite of Nisha.

Yang made a choked noise and everyone looked to her in concern.

"Are you crying?" Ruby asked.

"Aw, baby," Blake comforted, moving closer to her wife, her own eyes feeling more than a little watery.

Yang waved everyone off, wiping at her eyes. "My children are so cool," she said.


	7. Summer, 37

Blake awoke with the vague feeling that something was wrong. The house felt too quiet, too still. Her ears strained to hear something that wasn't there. Her brain cycled through all the things that it could to try and figure out why she felt so strange. Her wife was sleeping quietly next to her, long blond hair splayed across her pillow. Just like always. The clock in the hall ticked loudly, the same rhythm as always. The hum of the fan downstairs was a loud drone in the background, just like always. Her ears twitched and listened down the hall, where the twins—

The twins.

Blake snapped upright but Yang's hand was already reaching for her. "They're at Dad's, remember? So we could have some quiet?"

Gently breathing out of her slight panic, Blake sighed and flopped back down, smiling awkwardly when Yang snuggled into her side. Relaxing, she took in the tender quiet of the early morning, something the two of them hadn't been able to do all that much since the twins were born. The silence she once would've basked in felt more like a waiting game now, though, anxious for the return of tiny, pattering feet. "It's not as enjoyable as it used to be."

"You say that now," Yang said, turning into Blake's shoulder, her mouth pressed somewhat unattractively against the bared skin. "But I think you'll change your tune when you realize no one is here to interrupt us."

Oh. Oh. Blake smirked and ran a hand up Yang's side, fingers carding through tousled blond hair. "Mm. You're right. No interruptions will be nice for a change."


	8. Summer, 25

It was one of those mornings where the quiet felt like a warm blanket, far too comfortable to throw off just yet. The pale, soft sunlight and the early hour created a dream-like moment in space and time. Yang, elbow on the table, chin in hand, hair falling into her eyes, watched her fiance shuffle about the kitchen to make morning tea. There was a soft breeze coming in from the open window, carrying the scent of summer- warm grass, dew, sunflowers.

There was something entrancing about Blake's back to her, robe slipping off one shoulder. The soft, rhythmic clinking of her spoon as she stirred the tea in a three-count beat.

Yang rose from her seat, softly padding over to Blake and stopping just short of her as she turned around, a mug of tea in each hand. Even as their eyes met, the quiet remained. Yang took her mug and set it back on the counter. Still meeting Yang's gaze, Blake did the same.

She didn't kiss her right away. Instead she basked in the energy of it, enjoyed the feeling of knowing exactly where the moment was going and that they could take their time. Feeling impossibly light, Yang shifted closer, both of them with smiles that grew bigger and bigger as their faces came together. Blake's nose bumped Yang's dead on, the two shared a silent breath of laughter.

_ I love you, _ Yang thought as her mouth met Blake's, knowing she didn't have to say it out loud for Blake to know.

Blake's fingers curled in her hair, tangling in beams of sunlight. Yang's fingers curled at Blake's hip. Everything was right.


	9. Fall, 25

Blake slipped into the tub, sighing and relaxing back against Yang. Her hair, twisted and pinned into a high bun just behind her ears, bumped against something and Yang started sputtering (somewhat overdramatically in Blake's opinion).

"Hey, I offered to sit on the bottom but you were adamant," Blake said.

"Yeah," Yang said. Her hand raised from the rim of the bathtub and disappeared out of Blake's periphery, probably to pick hair from her mouth. "And it would've been even worse for you because I have twice as much hair."

Yang's hand, fingertips still wet with saliva, gripped Blake's shoulder and pulled her back, so she was reclining with her head in the crook of Yang's neck.

"Gross," Blake said, feeling a small patch of goosebumps around the wet cold of Yang's fingers.

Blake didn't see it, but she could feel Yang roll her eyes. "You're gross," Yang said, hand gripping Blake's chin so she could deliver a long and decidedly unsexy lick up the side of Blake's face.

Blake's ears flattened to her head, her nose scrunched up as she dealt with the uncomfortable feeling of saliva air drying on her face. "I think this is grounds for divorce."

"You have to marry me first." Yang wrapped her arms around Blake, careful to keep the port for her prosthetic away from the lavender scented water. Her arms tightened slightly, and Yang let out an exaggerated gasp. "Is this you proposing?"

An elbow to the gut was the first, and best, response that Blake could think of. "I literally proposed to you two years ago."

"Oh, right. We should probably do something about that."

With the hot water now fully seeping into Blake's muscles, into her bones, she sagged lethargically against Yang. "It can wait a little bit longer."

Humming, Yang dropped a kiss to Blake's shoulder. "Yeah, it can."


	10. Spring, 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more twins (and other important details that I enjoy glossing over)

"The walk wasn't too far?"

"Yang. It's fine. This leg is an even newer model than your arm. I'm not having any trouble."

Seated at a diner in downtown Vale, with half the booth empty for the twins (whenever they arrived), Yang looked over her wife with discerning eyes. Meanwhile, Blake was skimming the menu, mainly as a way of pointedly ignoring Yang. She'd had the menu memorized for years, and it hadn't changed all that much since team RWBY had first started going there almost 25 years ago. Really, the only significant changes were a handful of drinks and rotating specials based on the members of the famous team.

"Hey, you two," the server, Tawny, said. She set down a small pot of tea and two mugs without them having to order, filling one of the mugs with coffee for Yang. "The usual?"

"Thank you, and the usual's great," Blake said. "The twins are coming eventually but I'll let them order when they get here."

"Alright then," Tawny smiled, scribbling on her pad and walking back towards the kitchen.

"You're the best and loveliest," Yang called after her.

"Stop sweet-talking me when your wife's right there," Tawny called back.

Blake let out a snort, laughing into her tea.

"Did they say why they were going to be late?" Yang said, stirring an unholy amount of sugar and cream into her coffee.

Blake reopened the text she got from Nisha, which simply said: _might be late for lunch on sunday, love u_

"No. But considering she sent this at two in the morning, I'm guessing it wasn't a school approved activity."

"Well, they are our children," Yang said. "You and me got up to some similar nonsense back in the day. Y'know, before we had to save the world and whatnot."

Blake laughed softly, and it was music to Yang's ears. Everything about Blake was still the most wonderful thing Yang had ever known. The laugh lines and crow's feet, the hints of white in her hair and along the backs of her ears. She was still just as beautiful as the day Yang had met her. Leaning in, Yang pressed a long, affectionate kiss to Blake's cheek.

"Gross," two voices chimed out in unison. Jin and Nisha slid into the other side of the booth with their parents. They looked a little ragged, but whether they had gotten into a fight or were just very hungover, Blake and Yang couldn't tell. Almost nineteen, Jin and Nisha weren't really identical anymore. There wasn't much difference in height between the two, but Jin's features were a bit more square than his sister's these days. And though he preferred the clean shaven look, it was clear he'd been shaving more and more recently, as there was already a shadow starting to form along his jaw.

Blake privately thought that his faunus genes were expediting the whole facial hair thing.

"You're surprisingly on time," Blake said. "Considering the text you sent me at—" she checked her scroll for a completely unnecessary dramatic pause— "2:34 AM. Want to tell us what you were up to?"

Jin and Nisha shared a look with each other, silently debating something. Finally, they both smiled and looked towards their parents. Jin folded his hands and leaned forward, elbows on the table, while Nisha flicked a tightly coiled blond ringlet from in front of her eyes. "It's a _long_ story," they said in unison.

Blake shot her wife an exasperated look. "They get this from you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's not explicitly stated in this chapter, but I want people to know that Jin is a trans man


	11. Fall, 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you've met the twins now you get to meet the gaggle of faunus teens that Blake and Yang accidentally adopted

Blake woke up exhausted. Her hair was a mess from going to bed right after showering. Three weeks on an extensive search and destroy mission had left both her and Yang depleted. With nothing urgent on the to do list, all she really wanted to do was relax and cuddle her wife a bit.

Her wife, who wasn't in bed and - Blake furrowed her bow and reached out her arm, feeling the cold spot in bed next to her - apparently never had been.

"Yang?" she called, too tired to lift her face from the bed. She clearly remembered Yang in the house with her last night, so she wasn't panicking. Instead, she flexed her tired aura through the house and felt for her wife.

The steady thrum of Yang's aura indicated she was downstairs, and asleep. Despite that fact, footsteps thumped up the stairs in the house Blake and Yang shared with no one else. Tensing, Blake's ears flicked and focused, listening to a familiar, smooth stride.

The door opened and Sierra, a shark faunus, peeked into the room, wide brown eyes quickly finding Blake in the dark. Sierra was so tall that her spiky silver hair almost brushed the top of the door frame, even with her head ducked down. Her tentative smile bared jagged teeth. "Finally awake?"

Blake managed to roll on to her back, brush the hair from her eyes - it was probably time for another haircut - and sighed. "Nice to see you, too."

Sierra, now seventeen, had been one of the many faunus kids that the new White Fang worked to shelter and support, and she was one of a handful that Blake and Yang had ended up permanently fostering. Though Blake didn't feel old enough to be considered the teens' parent, they were all family.

Sierra smiled even wider. "We came over to play the new Slayer Showdown and found Yang asleep against the fridge. When did you guys get back?"

"Pretty late," Blake said.

"Like, late enough to be early?"

Blake hummed in agreement and wiped the sleep from her eyes. Finally, her brain started to shift out of neutral and into some form of wakefulness. "Who else is here?"

"Lav, Citsy, and Kuro - y'know, the whole crew. Lav moved Yang to the sofa. She's still asleep."

"I'm not surprised, I think she overused her semblance a bit."

Sierra nodded. "Do you want me to put some tea on?"

"Please. I'm gonna come down in a bit. Probably just nap with Yang while you use the holo-projector."

"You don't mind?"

"I'm already awake and Yang isn't going to wake up that easily now that she's home."

Nodding again, Sierra ducked out of the room and headed downstairs, much less elegant than she was on way the up. Groaning, Blake rolled her shoulders and stretched her back, trying to twist the exhaustion out of her body like water from a cloth. By the time she mustered enough energy to stagger out of bed and down the stairs, the kettle was whistling loudly and four teenagers were jammed onto a three person couch, trying to whisper shout as their characters brawled on screen.

Sierra was jammed on the end of the couch, straddling an arm with her long, long legs and leaning heavily on Citsy, a cat faunus with rounded ears that were tipped black. Citsy, the smallest of the four, was scowling as he was squished between Sierra and Kuro, wrestling for more room to hold his controller. Kuro, their black wolf ears slowly folding back in annoyance, tried to blow their long, black bangs from their face as they played. Cursing, they elbowed Citsy in the side to try and get an advantage.

Citsy elbowed them back, knocking Kuro into Lav. Lav, short for Lavender, was squished between Kuro and the other arm of the couch. Tall and lanky, he was awkwardly leaning away from the group so Kuro didn't accidentally bump their head against his four-pronged antlers. He waved lazily as Blake entered the room. "Good morning," he signed.

"Good morning," Blake signed back tiredly.

She shot Lav a small smile and chuckled softly when he rolled his eyes. "All these two do is button mash," he signed, flippant.

On the other couch, Yang was completely passed out, cheek pressed into the cushions and feet dangling over one of the arms. Her eyebrows furrowed with every loud noise from the teens, but she remained blissfully asleep.

A little too tired to be cautious or gentle, Blake half slid, half flopped against Yang's side and tucked the crown of her head into the back of Yang's shoulder. Grunting, Yang shifted, rolling over and wrapping her arms around Blake as her eyes finally slid open.

"That's what wakes you up?" Blake muttered, mostly to herself, into the collar of her wife's shirt (which smelled even worse than it had yesterday).

Yang didn't seem to hear her, instead she just yawned and squeezed Blake a little too tight. "Ugh, when did the kids get here?"

"We're not actually your kids," Citsy said from the other couch, both his and Kuro's ears were perked and alert as they desperately mashed buttons on their controllers, bouncing in their seats with unrestrained energy.

"You're killing me," Yang groaned, overdramatic despite only just waking up and still gaining her bearings. "You're killing your mother."

Kuro furiously button mashed, grinning madly as Citsy's character went down for the count. Letting out a breath, they took the controller from Citsy and extended it towards Yang. "Then pick up the controller and perish."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all the comments I've been getting! it's really been making my week so far, so thank you everyone who's been commenting!


	12. Summer, 22

Blake took Yang to a secret grove hidden in the thick of the small rainforest just outside Kuo Kuana. There was a small lake with a sandy bottom and just enough opening in the canopy above for sunlight to flood the area. Yang appreciated the privacy, appreciated not having to check herself when she couldn't stop staring. Especially when Blake was deftly moving through the water, skin shimmering and muscles flexing.

Treading water close to the shore, Blake squinted up at where Yang was sitting on the rocks, backlit by the sun, feet dipped in the water. "You gonna join me?"

Yang tugged at the protective sleeve on her right arm. The material was meant to keep water out of the prosthetic and provide a little extra buoyancy, so it didn't sink anymore than a flesh and blood arm. "I should probably test this out at some point, I guess."

"You don't have to come in if you don't want to," Blake said, moving closer to the ledge. She pulled herself halfway up, right between Yang's legs. "But I am planning on getting you wet one way or another."

Yang swallowed thickly, leaning forward for a kiss, but Blake slipped out of her reach and back into the water, grinning devilishly up at her girlfriend. Yang sighed. "Oh, fuck it," she pulled her feet out of the water, braced them against the ledge, and knifed impressively into the water, resurfacing right next to Blake.

Her hair was completely covering her face, and Blake couldn't help but laugh as she helped Yang push her hair back and out of the way. A task of such great magnitude that it required all four of their hands to accomplish.

Face uncovered, Yang grinned wide and bumped noses with Blake. It wasn't too deep that she had to tread water, but it was close. Blake must've been standing on her tiptoes. Yang wrapped her left arm around Blake's waist and then looked to her right arm, watching as she moved it through the water, testing the sleeve, feeling how it resisted its own weight underwater.

"Huh, not bad," she said.

Blake took Yang's hand underwater, tangled their fingers together. She pressed her forehead against Yang's, smirking. "Told you I'd get you wet."

Yang grinned in return, shifting closer so that her mouth was near Blake's ear. "Oh," she said, voice breathy and teasing in a way she knew Blake couldn't ignore. "I can think of a couple places that could be wetter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this house, I write water-loving Blake only


	13. Winter, 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned in an earlier chapter that Jin is a trans boy, but I wanted to give a heads up that any chapter (like this one) that takes place before Jin transitions is going to use different pronouns (it's a choice that I, a trans man, have made)

The twins were born early in the fall and weren't old enough to really experience their first winter in Patch. By the time their second winter came around, they were 16 months old and ready to explore the foot and a half of cold white stuff that appeared overnight.

Yang snagged Jin as she tried to run for the door still missing a winter jacket and scarf, and she laughed when Jin made a noise somewhere between a whine and a growl. "I spent years catching your Aunt Ruby, and she was much faster than you, kiddo."

"No!" Jin stomped her foot. "Out!"

"You can go out when I've finished buttoning you up, okay?"

Taiyang watched from the end of the hallway, smile on his face and camera in hand. Blake was bundling up the other twin, Nisha, who was much more placid than her sibling. (She wasn't fooling anyone, though. Yang knew that Nisha was 100% the evil twin. You know, if she had to pick one. Of her own children.)

"I still can't believe they're not even two yet," Taiyang said. "It seems like they've been walking forever. Yang definitely wasn't this coordinated at their age."

"Probably talked more, though," Blake said.

"She was a chatty baby," Taiyang confirmed, with a glint in his eye that indicated not much had changed.

"Hey," Yang protested weakly, still wrestling Jin into her scarf and jacket.

"Oh, shush," Blake said with a breath of laughter. "It's natural. Humans develop speech faster, while faunus develop motor skills faster." Blake ruffled Nisha's hair, gently stroking her fluffy golden ears and making sure they wouldn't be squished by her wool knit cap. Blake got a nip on the hand for her troubles. "They also get their teeth in faster."

She heard Jin giggle behind her and then a sharp "Ouch!" from Yang, followed by "Oh, you think that's funny do you?"

Smiling at the now familiar sounds of chaos, Blake finished tucking Nisha's scarf into the collar of her jacket. "Okay, we're all bundled up. How're you two doing?"

"All bundled!" Yang proclaimed, and Blake turned to see Yang securing the hat on Jin's head, brushing unruly hair from in front of her eyes. "You know what that means!" Yang said, "Light! Camera! Snow time!"

Blake's giggle quickly turned into a snort.

Camera still in hand, Taiyang followed as the twins bounced in front of the door, eagerly scrambling over each other to get outside when the door was finally opened. They didn't make it very far, instantly sinking into the snow and shrieking with delight as they half swam half crawled through the snow. Yang immediately helped them back to their feet, laughing when they flopped back down into the snow. "Throw!" Nisha demanded her mom, arms reaching up.

"Throw?" Yang said incredulously, eyebrows raised. "Well if the lady knows what she wants..." She picked Nisha up and gave her a soft toss into the snow, laughing when Nisha hit the snow and exploded with a noise of delight in a small cloud of white powder. Jin immediately started tugging Yang's leg, wanting the same, and Yang was more than happy to oblige.

Blake watched as her wife tossed their children farther and father into the snow while Taiyang filmed before she decided it was time to intervene. 

Hands on her hips, Yang stood triumphant as she looked over the carnage she'd committed to the fresh, previously untouched snowfall. Blake, silent even with the crisp snow underfoot, snuck forward, creeping up on her unsuspecting wife. Her shoulders shimmied and then she pounced, landing on Yang's back and sending them both tumbling face first into a snowdrift under the lip of the roof.

Yang squawked before planting facefirst in the snow, and the uproar of cheers from Taiyang and the twins was more than enough to keep Blake warm when Yang rolled them both other and shoved a handful of icy slush down her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please excuse my limited knowledge of early child development


	14. Spring, 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang share their second first kiss. (No that's not a typo.)

Yang's plan to take Blake out to the local bookshop-slash-cafe hit a slight snag when a sudden downpour had started outside. "Small chance of light rain, my ass," Yang said, looking through the window at the dark and dreary weather. "You still wanna go?"

"Of course I wanna go," Blake said. "Do you not?"

"No I just... I want it to be a good experience for you, so if the rain..." Yang trailed off as Blake waved away her concerns with a quick hand motion.

"It adds atmosphere," Blake said. She reached forward and took Yang's hand in hers. For a moment, her eyes dipped to Yang's mouth and Yang swallowed. She leaned in, nose a hair's breadth from bumping against Yang's. Then she backed away as if repelled by an invisible force, tongue anxiously swiping at her lips. Whether Blake lost her courage or just changed her mind, Yang wasn't sure, but she decided to not bring attention to it.

Blake cleared her throat. "We can share an umbrella. It'll be nice."

"Yeah," Yang said softly, because she had to say something but her words were failing her right now.

Grabbing her coat and taking the umbrella offered by Blake, the two headed out. Yang felt warm under the collar of her jacket as Blake's arm linked with hers. She was pressed close, shoulder to shoulder so they could both squeeze under the single umbrella. The nearness was comforting and exhilarating all in the same instant.

"So, where is this place?" Blake asked, artfully stepping around a puddle as Yang awkwardly tried to avoid it without moving the umbrella from above Blake's head.

"Uh, just a couple blocks down. It's squished in the corner between a couple places, so it's not the most noticeable, but it's nice and cozy and I figured it was something you'd enjoy."

"That does sound up my alley."

Blake sounded much more confident than Yang felt, but the anxiety was starting to fade the longer Blake was tucked into her side, keeping out the cold. Fingertips traced random shapes and lines on the inside of her forearm, setting the nerves underneath alight.

Stopping at a crosswalk, Yang chanced a look at Blake, and saw her staring right back.

_Fuck it,_ Yang thought. She turned towards Blake, letting their free hands connect and their fingers tangle. "Blake," she said, more soft and breathy than she intended.

Blake nosed at her chin, shifted as Yang leaned forward and their mouths met. It was soft and wet but so, so warm. They'd kissed before, once, but it was in the middle of a battle, right before they split up to deal with separate fights. Now there was nothing bearing down on them except their own feelings and the rain pattering on the umbrella. It swayed in Yang's hand, raindrops sneaking by shocking them out of their kiss.

The sudden jerk backwards was cut short by the fact that their arms were still linked, and Blake laughed, nose pressed into Yang's cheek, which was quickly turning a vibrant cherry red.

"Sorry," Yang said, umbrella back in position to keep them dry.

Blake just shook her head and tipped the umbrella out of the Yang's hand, submitting both of them to the downpour. "There, now you don't have to worry about it," she said, and pulled Yang in for another kiss.

This time teeth scraped against Yang's bottom lip, a tongue lapped at the seam of her lips. Shakily, she breathed in and let her mouth open, the contact igniting a fire in her gut. Surging with confidence, she wrapped her arms around Blake, one hand slipping low, thumb hooking on the waist of Blake's pants. She licked into Blake's mouth before remembering they were standing on a street corner in public where other people were walking by.

"Uh..." Yang said as she pulled away, seeing the flashing red of the don't walk sign across the street. "We missed the light."

"Worth it."


	15. Spring, 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just some good old fashioned pining, only semi-canon compliant but it fits my personal timeline and that's what matters

Yang wet her lips against the cold Atlas air, glossy and pink. That was enough for Blake's mouth to feel dry. Even in the colder climate, Blake was already starting to feel hot under the collar. She couldn't think, couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to just want without being overwhelmed by a dark ocean of guilt and shame.

Her eyes were so focused on her partner that Blake missed her other teammates moving around her. Water sloshed in Blake's face, startling her and focusing her attention on the water bottle Ruby was suddenly thrusting in her face. "Uh," Blake said, still processing.

Ruby only smiled comfortingly, so Blake took the bottle even though she wasn't sure why it was being offered in the first place.

"Being in Atlas is hard for Weiss, but I guess it's hard for you, too," Ruby began.

Nodding slowly, Blake slowed her pace a bit, ears twitching, hyper aware. Ruby's statement wasn't an answer to the still unopened water bottle now in Blake's possession. But Blake also knew that Ruby tended to lead up to her points, because she was uncomfortable jumping right into things. Socially, at least.

So, Blake waited patiently for Ruby to continue, eyes quickly moving back towards Yang and Weiss walking ahead of them. Weiss had a hand on Yang's arm, keeping herself steady as she laughed at something Yang said, or maybe she was just laughing at Yang herself. Yang had her hands stuffed in her pockets, shoulders hunched, looking almost embarrassed. As if sensing eyes on her, Yang looked over her shoulder at Blake, and Blake caught sight of wide eyes and a flushed face. Yang quickly faced forward again.

Blake's heart fluttered.

Next to her, Ruby cleared her throat and Blake remembered she was in the middle of a much more serious conversation. "I didn't know things were so..." Ruby trailed off, unsure of how to finish her sentence. Her eyes trailed over the many "No Faunus" signs that seemed to line the doors of every establishment on the street, in various fonts and sizes.

"Segregated?" Blake finished.

"Yeah," Ruby confirmed quietly, but she quickly brightened up again. "Well, I hope you know that my promise to Weiss applies to you as well. Team RWBY sticks together!"

That they were separated before didn't need to be said.

Mouth still dry and lips close to cracking in the cold air, Blake broke the seal on the bottle and took a long sip. "Thanks for this, by the way."

"No problem, Blake!" Ruby answered. "Weiss said you were looking thirsty."

Blake almost coughed up the water, ears flattening as Ruby's face morphed into a mischievous smirk. Ahead of them, Weiss laughed again.

**Author's Note:**

> find me @lumberwoof on tumblr (ask me questions, send me prompts, etc.)


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